Garry Ridge

"Leaders who want to amp up employee morale should take a look.-Publishers Weekly What if the answer to motivating people is to stop trying to motivate them? The second edition of this bestseller reveals how motivation science is essential for solving the most vexing leadership issues-from hybrid work and retention to employee engagement. Leaders face a motivation dilemma. Traditional command-and-control management styles and carrot-and-stick motivation techniques have been proven ineffective. Motivation researcher and leadership consultant Susan Fowler expands on her groundbreaking Spectrum of Motivation model in this updated post-pandemic edition. New chapters tackle motivation science's role in managing remote and hybrid work; expose overused tactics, such as gamification and tokens; and tell the fascinating backstory behind the great resignation and quiet quitting. Fowler's approach to leadership is fresh, pragmatic, and inspiring. But it's also empirically sound. Her framework builds on Self-Determination Theory, equipping leaders with skills to encourage choice, deepen connection, and build competence. Leaders who mastered this method have experienced breakthroughs with higher retention, lower turnover, greater acceptance of DEIJ initiatives, and a more vital, creative, and resilient workforce. Through her experiences working with organizations and leaders around the world, Fowler reminds us that motivation is at the heart of everything people do and everything they don't do but wish they did. When managers integrate motivation science into their everyday leadership practice, an evolutionary truth emerges: people can be highly productive and flourish simultaneously.

Can you create a successful company culture where people joyfully do meaningful work they believe in, within a tribe of supportive, positive, enthusiastic colleagues? Yes—it all starts with you! From the former CEO of WD-40 Company, this guide will show you how to make this vision a reality—and how to become a true leader along the way. In his book, Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It: Learning Moments from an Everyday CEO of a Multi-Billion-Dollar Company, Chairman Emeritus Garry Ridge tells the story of how he helped grow WD-40 Company into one of the world’s most recognized and beloved brands. How did he do it? By following the wisdom of Aristotle: “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” In his trademark Aussie storytelling fashion, Garry shares stories from his life that combine to create a deep well of leadership wisdom. You’ll discover: How a letter from the father of a young girl forever changed Garry’s thinking around the legacy of positive, lasting memoriesHow to transform any workplace into a community where everyone thrives in psychological safetyThe humbling importance of never getting too impressed with yourselfThe number one responsibility of every leader, regardless of position in the org chartWhat Garry learned when he thought he was smarter than a hotel fire alarm on a cold, rainy London nightWhat Garry learned from the time he rode a horse to Wall Street, dressed in full knight’s armorWhat makes a soul-sucking CEO (and how not to be one) Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It is the story of Garry’s grand adventure in his own words, broken down into lessons he learned along the way, which he calls learning moments. In 26 short lessons, Garry shares stories from his career—those flashes of insight that have made all the difference in the world.

What if the answer to motivating people is to stop trying to motivate them? The second edition of this bestseller reveals how motivation science is essential for solving the most vexing leadership issues--from hybrid work and retention to employee engagement. Leaders face a motivation dilemma. Traditional command-and-control management styles and carrot-and-stick motivation techniques have been proven ineffective. Motivation researcher and leadership consultant Susan Fowler expands on her groundbreaking Spectrum of Motivation model in this updated post-pandemic edition. New chapters tackle motivation science's role in managing remote and hybrid work; expose overused tactics, such as gamification and tokens; and tell the fascinating backstory behind the great resignation and quiet quitting. Fowler's approach to leadership is fresh, pragmatic, and inspiring. But it's also empirically sound. Her framework builds on Self-Determination Theory, equipping leaders with skills to encourage choice, deepen connection, and build competence. Leaders who mastered this method have experienced breakthroughs with higher retention, lower turnover, greater acceptance of DEIJ initiatives, and a more vital, creative, and resilient workforce. Through her experiences working with organizations and leaders around the world, Fowler reminds us that motivation is at the heart of everything people do and everything they don't do but wish they did. When managers integrate motivation science into their everyday leadership practice, an evolutionary truth emerges: people can be highly productive and flourish simultaneously.

Ken Blanchard’s Leading at a Higher Level techniques are inspiring thousands of leaders to build high-performing organizations that make life better for everyone. Now, in Helping People Win at Work, Blanchard and WD-40 Company leader Garry Ridge reveal how WD-40 has used Blanchard’s techniques of Partnering for Performance with every employee--achieving levels of engagement and commitment that have fortified the bottom line. Ridge introduces WD-40 Company’s year-round performance review system, explaining its goals, features, and the cultural changes it requires. Next, he shares his leadership point of view: what he expects of people, what they can expect of him, and where his beliefs about leadership and motivation come from. Finally, Blanchard explains why WD-40 Company’s Partnering for Performance system works so well--and how to leverage its high-value techniques in your organization. In this book, you’ll learn how to: · Stop building failure into your mentoring of employees · Set goals using the SMART approach: specific, motivational, attainable, relevant and trackable · Help people move through all four stages of mastery · Create a culture that shares knowledge and encourages nonstop learning “I’m thrilled that the first book in our Leading at a Higher Level series is with Garry Ridge, president of WD-40 Company. For years I’ve been concerned about how people’s performance is evaluated. People are often forced into a normal distribution curve, or even worse, rank ordered. Not only does this not build trust, it also does not hold managers responsible for coaching people and helping them win. The manager’s responsibility is focused on sorting people out. When I was a college professor, I always gave my students the final exam at the beginning of the course and spent the rest of the semester helping them answer the questions so that they could get an A. Life is all about getting As, not some stupid normal distribution curve. Garry Ridge got this, and wow! What a difference it has made in WD-40 Company’s performance.” --Ken Blanchard “When I first heard Ken talk about giving his final exam at the beginning of the course and then teaching students the answers so they could get an A, it blew me away. Why don’t we do that in business? So that’s exactly what I did at WD-40 Company when we set up our ‘Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A’ performance management system. Has it made a difference? You’d better believe it. Ever since we began the system, our company’s annual sales have more than tripled, from $100 million to more than $339 million. And we’ve accomplished this feat while making the company a great place to work.” --Garry Ridge